CMA says Microsoft-Activision deal ‘could harm UK gamers’

A CMA investigation has "provisionally concluded that Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers," the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority announced. "The provisional findings from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) follow a wide-ranging investigation conducted over the last five months to understand the market and potential impact of the deal. This has included holding site visits and hearings to hear directly from business leaders at Microsoft and Activision, analysing over 3 million internal documents from the two businesses to understand their views on the market, commissioning an independent survey of UK gamers, and gathering evidence from a range of other gaming console providers, game publishers, and cloud gaming service providers," the regulator stated. "The CMA welcomes responses from interested parties to its provisional findings by 1 March 2023 and its notice of possible remedies, which sets out potential options for addressing its provisional concerns, by 22 February 2023. These will be considered ahead of the CMA issuing its final report, which is due by 26 April 2023," the regulator added. Reference Link